Submerged current-motor.



N0. 64I,695. Patented lan. 237 |900. R. E. HAHDAWAY;

SUBMERGED CURRENT MOTOR.

(Application filed. Sept. 26, 1898.)

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No. 641,695. Patented 1an. 23, |900.

R. E. HAR'DAWAY.

SUBMERGED CURRENT MOTOR.

(Application filed. Sept. 26, 1898.) (No Model.) v2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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Parar SUBMERGED CURRENT-MOTORl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,695, dated January 23, 1906.

Application filed September 26, 1898, Serial No. 691,891. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT EARLY HARD- AWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Travis and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Submerged Current-Motor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to motors, particularly of that class designed to be operated by a dense iuid, such as water; and the object in view is to provide a current-wheel having the necessary strength to resist strains applied thereto in operation and also being of\suffi cient lightness to serve as an efficient and economical means of converting power and communicating the same to machinery to be driven.

A further and secondary object of my in-` vention is to provide a simple and efficient housing for the wheel when exposed to either continuous or tidal currents.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is an end view of a water-wheel constructed in accordance with myinvention, the same being shown arranged in operative position in a suitable housing, also constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the wheel. Fig. 3'is a plan view, partly broken away, of the same.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Although in the following description I will refer to the wheel embodying my invention as being adapted particularly for its use in connection with a current-motor, it will be understood that the same is also adapted,with but slight modifications in arrangement and proportions, to be used in connection with other forms of motors, such as air-motors, dto., the same essential features of construction being present under the different conditions of use.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention 1 represents a shaft mounted in suitable bearings 2, which may form part of a supporting-frame upheld either by a stationary foundation laid therefor on the bed of a streaiii or by a floating barge or otherwise. Extending radially from the shaft andv preferably connected at their inner ends with said shaft by means of a hub-plate 3 are arms 4, preferably consisting of metal bars and having the concavo-convexed or cross-sectionallybowed blades 5 attached thereto in a position inclined to the length of the arms. For instance,the arms may be made of equal lengths, as shown in the drawings, Fig. 2, with the rear edge of the blade attached by means of angle-plates 6 to the outer extremities thereof and with their front edges secured by similar angle-plates to the arms in advance of those to which said rear edges are attached, said front edges of the plate, however, being attached to the arms at intermediate points of the latter, whereby a straight line connecting the front and rear edges of a blade is disposed diagonally with relation to both of the arms to which the edges of the blade are secured. ,Arranged in the plane of this connecting-line, between the front and rear edges of each blade, is a strut-brace 7, connecting the arms 4, to which the front and rear edges of the blade are attached, and intersecting this strut-brace is a tensile brace 8, extending from the point of attachment of the front end of one blade to the center of the blade in advance thereof, as also shown in Fig. 2. The strut and tensile braces are secured at their point of intersection by means of abolt or rivet 9, and by means of said braces the plate is maintained permanently in its bowed shape, as described. The front extremities of the tensile braces 8 are secured to the blades by means of angle-plates 10, similar to those used for attaching the front and rear edges of the blades to the radial arms of the wheel.

In addition to the above-described means for bracing the wheel-frame and the blades carried thereby I also employ brace-rods 1l', extending across the blades between their front and rear edges and in planes parallel with and between those of the arms 4 to maintain the intermediate portions of the blades in the proper shape, and it will be understood that in a wheel of considerable length the blades may be continuous from one end thereof to the other, as indicated in the draw- IOO ings, Fig. 3, or may be sectional, a joint being formed in the plane of the intermediate radial arms 4; but I have deemed it unnecessary to illust-rate this modification, as the advantages thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

Bolted or riveted to the hub-plate 3 is a reinforcing-plate 12, which in turn is bolted to the flange 13 of a collar or sleeve 14, fitted upon the shaft l, said collar or sleeve being held from rotating independently of the shaft by means of one or more set-screws l5, which impinge terminally upon the shaft. It will be understood that the elements comprising the hub of the wheel embodying my invention are the hub-plate 3 and flanged collar 14, with the interposed reinforcing plate or disk 12, and that these elements may be secured together in any suitable manner to maintain the parts of the wheel in their proper relative positions. Furthermore, extending diagonally from the extremity of each arm 4 inwardly to the hub, as from the extremities of the intermediate arms 4 to the terminal hub, are brace-rods 16, (shown clearly in Fig. 3,) the function of these brace-rods being to give longitudinal stiffness to the structure. Also in the drawings I have illustrated end plates or heads 17, by which the extremities of the water-wheel are closed; hut it will be understood that this feature of the invention, as well as others hereinbefore mentioned, is susceptible of modification to suit the conditions under which the apparatus is used.

The above-described diagonal disposition of the blades enables me to employ a large number of blades in a given diameter of wheel and to utilize to the maximum extent the force of the Water in driving the shaft, and at the same time by this arrangement of parts I have provided for the efhcient movement of the blades through the Waterin passing lfromand to the point of application of power and therefore have disposed in a great measure of the element of resistance or back pressure in connection with devices of this class.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a construction of wheel-housingadapted for use when a permanent or stationary arrangement of the wheel is desired, and by referring thereto it will be seen that the bearings 2 are upheld by diagonallyclosed beams 18, arranged in the intervals between uprights 19 and serving to support a top shield or cover20, whereby the wheel is protected at its upper side from floating objects. This top shield projects forward or upstream a considerable distance beyond the front side of the wheel, and extending downwardly and in the direction of movement of the Water from the front edge of this top shield is a deflector 21, designed to prevent the application of the pressure of the Water to the portion of the water-wheel above the plane of its shaft and cause the force of the water to be applied to the lower side of the wheel when the latter is intended to be oper-y ated as an undershot wheel. Also the front or upper end of the case or frame in which the water-wheel is mounted is fitted with an intermediate pivoted shutter 22, mounted upon a support 23, rising from the base 24 and having connected therewith suitable operating devices, which in the construction illustrated consist of a transverse shaft 25, a chain or chains 2G, extending from the shutter to said shaft, which performs the function of a drum, an operating-spindle 27, and gearwheels for com municatin g rotary motion from the operating-spindle to said shaft or drum. Also a suitable key 28 may be employed for facilitating the manual operation of the operating-spindle.

lVhen the wheel isv to be used in connection with a tidal current, an adjustable deflector 29 (illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1) may be employed, the position a representing that which is occupied by the deflector when the current is moving in a direction opposite to that shown by the arrow in said Fig. 1, while the position b shows that which is occupied by this deflector when the current is moving in the direction indicated by said arrow. In the drawings the base or platform 24 is shown arranged upon piles or supports 30, suitably embedded in ballast and the bed of the stream or body of Water; but it will be understood that the construction embodying my invention maybe used in connection with a barge or other Heating support or may be anchored in any suitable position, according to the peculiarities of the stream or the couditions of its use.

Any suitable form of lubricating devices may be used in connection with the journals of the Wheel embodying my invention, and, furthermore, it will be understood that when the device is used in connection with tidal currents alone the above-described shutter 22 may be omitted and also that various other changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. A currentwheel having a shaft and radial arms, cross-sectionally-bowed blades disposed diagonally with relation to the radii of the wheel, with their rear edges located contiguous to the periphery of the Wheel, said blades being secured at their front and rear edges to different sets of radial arms, and strut-braces connecting the arms near the front and rear edges of the blades, and located in the position of chords of the curves described by said blades to brace said arms and prevent relative movement of the arms under the strain of the blades, substantially as specified.

2. A current-wheel having a shaft and frame comprising radial arms, cross-sectionally-bowed blades disposed diagonally with relation to the radial arms and attached thereto IIO at their front and rear edges, and tensile braces extending from intermediate points of the blades to which they are attached at one end and connected at their opposite ends to the frame of the wheel, said braces being arranged approximately perpendicular to the chords of the curves described by said blades, substantially as speciiied.

3. A current-wheel having radial arms, cross-sectionally-bowed blades secured at their rear edges to the outer extremities of said arms.and at their front edges to intermediate points of the arms, strut-braces connecting said arms in the planes of lines connecting the front and rear edges of the blades, and tensile braces extending forwardly from intermediate points of said strut-braces to intermediate points of the blades, substantially as specied.

4;. A current-wheel having radial arms, cross-.sectionally-bowed blades secured at their rear edges to the outer extremities of said arms and at their front edges to intermediate portions of said arms, strutbraces connecting said arms in the planes of lines connecting the front and rear edges of the blades, and tensile braces extending inwardly from the centers of the blades to the arms of the Wheel, and intersecting and secured to said strut-braces, substantially as specified.

5. A current-wheel having radial arms secured at their inner ends to a shaft, crosssectionally-bowed blades disposed diagonally with their front and rear edges secured respectivel y to the extremities and intermediate points ofthe arms, and intersecting strut and tensile braces arranged respectively in the planes of lines connecting the front and rear edges of said blades and approximately perpendicular to said lines, to connect intermediate points of the blades with the radial arms, substantially as specified.

6. A current-wheel having a shaft, hubs consisting of flanged collars or sleeves secured to the shaft, hub-plates bolted to the ianges of the collars or sleeves and reinforcing-plates interposed between said hub plates and iianges, arms radiating from the shaft in the planes of said hub and secured to the hubplates, cross-sectionally-bowed blades disposed diagonally with their front and rear edges secured to said arms, and means for bracing the arms near their outer extremities, and respectively in the planes of lines connectin g the front and rear edges of the blades, substantially as specified.

'7. A current-motor having a supportingframe and a current-wheel mounted therein, said su pportin g-frame having a forwardly and downwardly inclined deflector, a top shield extending forwardly over the current-wheel from the upper edge of said det/lector, an adjustable shutter closing the upper or front end of the frame in advance of said deflector, and means for operating the shutter, substantially as speciiied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT EARLY HARDAWAY.

NVitnesses:

A. P. WOOLDRIDGE, Jr., JASPER WooLDRIDGE. 

